Does Economic Basis of Reservation Weaken Constitutionalism in India?

Abstract

Reservations and affirmative action are significant Constitutional intervention in India to compensate the historical injustices based on discriminatory caste system. The independent India saw various challenges to these policies and has further strengthened the foundations of them. But the recent judgement in upholding the reservation for economically weaker sections has challenged some of the founding principles of social justice in India, by moving away from compensatory discrimination basis of our reservation policy. This article explains the foundations of reservations in India and questions the Constitutional validity of the recent judgement in upholding reservation based solely on economic criteria.

Keywords

Compensatory discrimination reservations economically weaker section (EWS)Mandal Commission basic structure

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